Category Archives: Alternative Crops

By: Kay Ledbetter Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist, Lubbock, has recently been named the statewide hemp specialist for the agency. “We’ve had a lot of excellent work being done by our AgriLife Extension Industrial Hemp Initiative team to prepare Texas for the production of industrial hemp,” said Dan Hale, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension associate director — agriculture and natural resources, College Station, in announcing the new position. Calvin Trostle speaks to attendees of AgriLife event. “Dr. Trostle has worked tirelessly in this area and has… Read More →

By: Kay Ledbetter Texas A&M AgriLife will be planting hemp variety trials for the first time this spring, with a goal to provide producers, hemp seed companies and the larger hemp industry with a reliable, independent scientific assessment of hemp varietal performance in Texas. Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist and statewide hemp specialist, Lubbock, said they will begin implementing the Texas A&M AgriLife fee-based variety testing program for hemp cannabinoid, fiber and grain at Plainview and San Angelo under irrigation, and Commerce and College… Read More →

Writer: Kay Ledbetter The wait is over, and the first look at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s interim final hemp production rules are now available. The rules were published in the Federal Register on Oct. 31 and public comment will be allowed for 60 days on the USDA website. These rules do not, however, grant anyone the right to begin planting hemp in Texas. There are still several more steps to the process to finalize Texas industrial hemp rules, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists working… Read More →

By: Kay Ledbetter Contact: Dr. Larry Redmon – l-redmon@tamu.edu Growing industrial hemp in Texas is not yet legal in the state of Texas, but that doesn’t mean there is not a rapidly growing amount of interest, questions and calls. In response, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has formed an Industrial Hemp Education Initiative Team to provide information concerning industrial hemp production in Texas. “It is still not legal to grow hemp in Texas until several steps are taken,” said Dr. Larry Redmon, AgriLife Extension program leader and associate… Read More →

Writer: Beth Ann Luedeker Coffee researchers, roasters and others with an interest in coffee gathered at the Scotts turfgrass facility on the Texas A&M University campus to discuss opportunities for coffee research. “Coffee is not one of our top crops, but millions of pounds are roasted and consumed in Texas each year,” said Dr. Leo Lombardini, Horticulture Professor and Director of the Texas A&M Coffee Center. “In the Houston area alone, there are about 100 small roasters and 15 large roasters.” Coffee is an important commodity for the… Read More →

By: Kay Ledbetter Dr. Emi Kimura has been named the state peanut specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Kimura joined AgriLife Extension in 2015 as an agronomist serving the Rolling Plains and surrounding areas from the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center south of Vernon. Dr. Larry Redmon, AgriLife Extension program leader and Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences associate department head in College Station, said Kimura will continue a long-standing tradition of having the state peanut specialist based in Vernon. When the Vernon agronomist… Read More →

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-77-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contacts: Dr. Curtis Adams, 940-552-9941, Curtis.adams@ag.tamu.edu Dr. Calvin Trostle, 806-746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu A team of scientists from Texas A&M AgriLife and the University of Florida are working to increase and stabilize guar production in the U.S. by testing integration of guar into existing wheat production in the Southern Plains. The team is funded for the next four years to conduct this work by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Sustainable Agroecosystems: Functions, Processes and Management” grant program. Guar produces a seed containing galactomannan gum, which… Read More →

Writer: Adam Russell, 903-834-6191, adam.russell@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Gerald Smith, 903-834-6191, gerald.smith@ag.tamu.edu A new forage cowpea variety – Ace – blends a number of desirable characteristics into into a well-rounded option for livestock, wildlife and improved soil health, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research expert. Ace is a small-seed cowpea cultivar developed for forage and hay production, as a cover crop and as a wildlife supplemental planting, said Dr. Gerald Smith, AgriLife Research plant breeder in Overton. Cowpea is a warm-season, drought-tolerant legume. Diverse varieties are used as… Read More →

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Curtis Adams, 940-552-9941, Curtis.Adams@ag.tamu.edu Dr. Calvin Trostle, 806-746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu VERNON – When a Texas Rolling Plains guar producer found himself to be potentially out of compliance with government guidelines, he turned to Texas A&M AgriLife to help get the guidelines updated. Guar has been grown in Texas for more than a century and is becoming more attractive to producers because of its drought tolerance and relatively low water use, said Dr. Curtis Adams, Texas A&M AgriLife Research crop physiologist in Vernon. “Guar… Read More →